Grand Theft Auto IV
Yeah, so we all thought we'd be playing it by now. But Rockstar had other ideas, delaying the release of the latest in their smash hit series until...well, sometime in 2008. Best guesses right now put it hitting streets sometime in March, but the notoriously secretive dev studio isn't telling. Regardless of when it comes out, it'll take place in a redesigned Liberty City, which bears a startling resemblance to New York, and will do something with multiplayer, but nobody knows what. Check out the trailers and our previews, and you'll pretty much know about as much as anyone does about this upcoming headline-maker.
Smash Bros Brawl
Another title that we were expecting to have been playing by now, Nintendo's flagship beat-'em-up Smash Bros. Brawl is easily at the top of the 08 list for Wii owners. It features a bewildering assortment of playable characters from just about any Nintendo franchise you care to mention - and, for the first time in the series, some favorites from other developers. Set for release on February 10, it's bound to be one of the biggest debuts of the year.
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
Coming February 19, Prologue brings the spectacularly successful Gran Turismo series to the PlayStation 3. Depending on your perspective, it's either a very long demo or a very short game; featuring a comparatively miserly 37 cars and 10 tracks, it will be followed (eventually) by a full version of Gran Turismo 5 with way, way more content. Still, if you're looking for a decent driving game for your PS3 - and who isn't? - Prologue is bound to deliver, and thanks to its curbed nature we're expecting it to sell via download from the PlayStation Store at a suitably trimmed price.
Metal Gear Solid 4
Bringing Hideo Kojima's inimitable brand of madness to the PlayStation 3, Metal Gear Solid 4 is guaranteed to be a huge hit. This installment is said to be the last one to feature traditional lead Solid Snake, and the last to be directed by Kojima himself, but we've heard that one before. Either way, the game is set in 2014, and sees Snake traveling to a variety of locations around the world to take on a series of increasingly unlikely-named foes. All your favorite characters return, Snake's kitted out with a tantalizing range of new toys, and the graphical polish is delicious. Watch for it around the spring.
Halo Wars
Halo 3 marked the end of the Master Chief's saga, but Microsoft's not one to let a good idea alone. Ensemble Studios, developer of the acclaimed Age of Empires series, is hard at work bringing the Halo universe to the real-time strategy world, and has chosen the time period before the original Halo game as the setting for its new Xbox 360 game. Despite plenty of commendable attempts, real-time strategy games on consoles have never quite had enough momentum to make the big time, but the Halo name could well give this one the extra push it needs.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Ever wondered what it'd be like to be an uber-powerful Jedi, but without all those namby-pamby rules and ethical codes? Force Unleashed will give you the chance to play the role of a dark Jedi and, in the words of the creators, "kick ass with the Force." Thanks to innovative technology, Force Unleashed simulates the behavior of substances like wood, glass, and metal so that scenery can shatter and deform as it's struck by other objects. Objects like, say, a flying stormtrooper. Sweet. It's going to be released on just about every console, but the Wii version is attracting particular interest thanks to its promise of realistic lightsaber-swinging controls.
Fallout 3
The Fallout name is revered among PC gamers, who associate it with a series of superb, old-school turn-based RPGs that still command a substantial fan following. Now the series is in new hands, and a new Fallout game is on the way - but even if you didn't play the first couple of games, there's still plenty about Fallout 3 to raise your pulse. How does a plot-driven adventure in a post-apocalyptic, Mad Max-style world sound? If it's in the hands of Bethesda, the studio behind the critically-acclaimed Oblivion series, it sounds mighty fine.
Spore
We've been waiting for Sims creator Will Wright's newest game for ages. EA is being coy about a release date, but it's a distinct possibility that we'll see it hit the streets next year. Whereas The Sims let you simulate the lives of virtual people - including jobs, relationships, going to the bathroom, and getting set on fire - Spore lets you create your own lifeform. It will start as a single-celled organism, evolve through phases that involve creating tribes and managing civilizations, and end up colonizing the universe. It's an ambitious brief, to be sure, but Will Wright is probably the one designer capable of pulling it off.
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
Hands up - who needs more reasons to play World of Warcraft? Anyone? Bueller? Tough. World of Warcraft is expected to receive its second expansion sometime in 2008, and it's bound to provide its vast player base with even more reasons to never leave the house. Lich King raises the level cap to 80, provides a whole new continent to explore, introduces at least one new class, and much more. Like its predecessor, Burning Crusade, expect it to become an essential purchase for any Warcraft fan.
Final Fantasy XIII
Does this RPG series really need an introduction? Little is known about Final Fantasy XIII beyond what we've gleaned from the snippets of video footage Square-Enix has allowed to trickle forth. But we can guarantee this much: it will feature the return of the highly successful Active Time Battle system from FFXII, which melds turn-based and real-time concepts, and take place in a sleek, sci-fi inspired word. Whether or not it'll actually make it out in 2008 is a lottery, but don't bother checking your local game outlet until the holiday season rolls around again.
http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/10-most-anticipated-games-of-2008/1177969
